Oxygen supply for parachutists



Sept- 14, 1943- 's. A.-MOREHOUSE OXYGEN SUPPLY FOR PARACHUTISTS 2 SheetS -Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 14, 1940 p 1943- s. MOREHOUSE 2,329,239,

OXYGEN SUPPLY FOR PARACHUTISI'S Filed Sept. 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5/4454 Maia/005E Patentetlrsept. 14, 1943' i as A. Mo h us G a'gi a if-i i a. Applicationseptember14, 1940$eria1Nbqtffififiilil J7 Claims, (01.1289142) 1 This, invention relates to equipment for s'upplying oxygenflto aviators'fand has to do partic'- ularly with the emergency supply ofjoxygen to aviators when theyare forcedt bail out of. their ships at high altitudes. It is welllrecognized that an artificial oxygen supply is essential to most aviators when flying at altitudesrof .from 15,000 20,30,000 feet and higher. Equipment hasvbe'enprovided for this purpose, and usually'consists of a mask covering the'vnoseand mouth ofthe aviator and. connected by flexibletubing'to a supply of oxygem; The latter. usually consists' of a tank of substantial proportions and \weight, together with a suitablepresfsure reducing valve; 'l'hewweightand bulk oi thetank and valve equipment is such that it cannot aviator. v

be carried von the person of the drawings, y

bodiment inventio 'Inthefdrawingsii Y Fig. g.1f is a perspect ply apparatus injaceordance withtheinvention;

' (ready for usenjf i Fig. 4 isa section in the plane IV- I V of'Fig. 3; i

'Fig, 5Iista schematicviw',;sirnilar toFigLB, j but takenatrightanglesjthe retopi") j, j

I Fig."6'fis a sohematic jviewf s "artojli'ig; 5; but showingthe apparatus,Ie-after it has been Ithasalso been recognized by others th'at avi ators forcedto jumpfirom their shipsat high altitude, say 30,000 feetffmaysuffer from lackgof Y oxygen before they reach a level at which the natural supply is suflicient, and they may become unconscious} lfl' erefore'it has already been' proposed that aviators be equipped withxsmalloxw gen'lmttles tobe carried with them-iwhen' they bailout, and'containing suflicient oxygen to last Fig; 2j"is -a .view illustratingthe apparatus of.

Fig.1 in the positionit assumesaiter the aviator a v has bailed. out and his parachutehas opened; s

Fig, 3 is an enlargedqetailliview oftlie emergency 7 oxygen" bottle and [{valve in accordance with the invention show in normal condition edbr en o the Pa u [Fig.{l a longitudinal fsectionalvievv through the yalveiunit pi, my invention,- showing the valve until a reasonablylow-altitude is reached. lSuch prior systems 101 which I v aware :are subj ect to the serious criticism that they require a manual operation bythe aviatorltotransferhisoxy gen supply connectionsirom thefla'rgel tankin the shipto the smallbottle carriedomhis person.

This is obj actionable; because under }conditions that necessitate abandoning the ship, the aviator 5 present invention). and a second ;oxyen,supply, tube 6 extending from the 1 valve .5 itoi 'a' 'corivejntion'alloxyg'en tank equipped with a com/en,

"An object of the presentiinventionisto provide-an emergency oxygen supply apparatusthat is "fully automatic in its operation and requires no attention onthe part otthe aviator. :1

Another object is to providea simple, reliable and foolproof valve structurej-forutransferring an aviators oxygen maskfrom connection with a regular'loxygen tank to an emergency oxygen bottle carried by the aviator, the valve "being operable automatically when the aviatorfbailsout. a I

Another object of the invention isto simplify thez maintenance of' emergency oxygen equip mefit i T aviators. I

- Various other specific objects andfieaturesof 1 capable of performing the necessaryoperation.

y the invention will] become apparent fro'mj the detailed'description to follovv. o! afpart ioul'ar but showin parts 1111 thefnosition they j'ass h -be n'tr pn ay FigJQ is across sect Referringt first to ljig vl, thereiis shown an' aviator equipped 'with'fa conventional parachute harness I a; conventional oxygen mask 2, Ya .re-v breathin bag}; an oxy en" supply tube 4 extending to a valve. unit 5 -f(con'stitutiiig a 5 part; Of the tional pressure freducingj valve- 8,17 The aviator I is" shown in sitting position, such as he might oc cupy in an airplane 'durihgn'ormal flying operan and th par qliute' (not showmi' may-be .of

conventional seatjltype upon ivhich ithe, aviator;

s its.)

jAs'Wil be explainetllater;valve normally interconnects "the tubes and Byso'that the aviators oxygen mask 2 issuppl ed'with oxygen ironi the tank 1 ,1 in the customary manner, just as though'the valve 5fwere iiot presentand the I tub j iiwler d'irectlylconnecteglftothetube f However, the valve 5 isadapted tobe actuated,

in, responseto opening of theparachute, to'co'nex heat the tubefll; toliari' emergencyoxyg'en bottle 9 which'issu'pported on the parachuteharness and goesvvith the aviator when he bailsoutlf The tube 5 6v maybe ffrictionallyjiengaged withra I cop;

teammate v easis j ha i p nsatft e" IQ vet f of an avia Q equipped with a parachute an d with oxygen supofthfvalveni ckia ism wim the ne aite t e v l f tates'the aviator leaving the airplane.

time the aviator bails out. It will be apparent;

therefore, that the. substitution of the emergency aviatorsweight from the parachute canopy after the latter has opened. These risers are there fore'shown extending upwardly from the aviator in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Only the two front risers H and I2, respectivelyp appearin Fig. 1, the rear risers l3 and l l 'ext'ending downand back of the aviator in this view. The riser l2 carries the handle l5,of-the rip'cord' [6 which extends to the parachute pack (not shown). This handle 15 islstitched with relatively, weak thread to the riser lTs'o that when theaviator gives .it ,a good pullit'tearsloose from. the riser l2. and withdraws the. cord li'ffronifthe parachute pack tofopen', it. ,I'n' Fig. 2 therrip cord and handle have been pulled "loose and ffdiscarded. '1". ,1 l l 1.

The right front riser ll (Fig.jl) ;carries' the emergency oxygen bottle and .the; valve 5, which is formed integrallyfi lwith, the bottle 9. Thus the bottle 9 is contained ma fabric case I8 which is solidly stitched'to'thei riseifl'l as shown in-Figs. andii; fThevalve, is securedtothe riser II by. a"band',l9 fwhichstlftched with head 35.

and seated against shoulder 34 in the stem 26. The plug29 is forced againstthe seat 28 by a threaded plug 34. I I r I It will be apparent that the valve disc. 3|

normally seals the passage through the stem 26 i upward movement'of the valve rod 30.

The lower end of the valve rod 30 projects through the screw plug ,34 and terminates in a However, this head 35 is normally coveredby a .sleeve 36 loosely mounted for free weak thread tolthefri ser lI,.j QFurthermore, as

1 most. clearlyishown in 5,.the, risergl l isf".n6r mally-slackbetwen the point oi a'ttachrrient. of

the case I8 and the pointof attachment of the band I 9 so that. when thel para'chute .opens and the. ,avlators' weight is supportedf by the risers. the Weak Stitching 20 "(Fig 5).11'61di1ig' thewband' I9 to the riser Il,is broken,"permittingtheriser.

to straighten out below the caseljl 8 iasshown "in .The resultant downward movement er, the lower portion of the riser. H, relative to the casing '18 and the valve 5,'is utilized to actuate the valve. v Thus the. valve'is provi'ded with an actuating cableXZjl which extends from they lower end thereof and is secured to a ring 22, which in turn is firmly'secur'ed. to the riser ll at alpoint below the band 19 so that when the latter is torn loose, as shown in- Fig. 6, the cable Zlfis pulled downwardly to actuate the valve. I

The internal construction of the valve Swill now be described with particular reference to the sectional views of Figs. 7 and 8. The 'valve5 consists of a stem which forms the: neck of the emergency oxygen bottle 9. vIt has a central longitudinal passage in which there is mounted a valve stem 25 of the general type employed in pneumatictires. Thus the valve stemis threaded to screw into a threadedportion of the'central passage 21 and hasja seat 28 which is normally closed'by a conical plug 29. The plug 29 has a central, passage extending therethrough which loosely receivesa valve rod 30 and'is normally closed. by a. valve .disc 3l connected to the rodB-fl and urged into seating position by a"helical' spring 32, compressed between the valve disc 3| and a spider 33 loosely mounted on the rod 30 vertical movement; in the passage 21. This sleeve 35 ispermanen'tly connected to the cable 2|, previously referred to, it being extended through a small central passage 38 in a screw plug 39 which closes the lower end of the passage 21. The lower end of. the passage is enlarged and threaded to receive a hollow .ifscrew139a, which'functions to secure a'lowerclos'u're member 25a in place on'the stem 25; 1

The sleeve 38 is frictlonallyengaged by a button 40 slidably mounted" for lateral. movement in a lateral passage 41 extending from thecentral passage v.Z'l, the. button 10 being urged against the. side of thesleeve' 36 by a spring 42 compressed betweedthe'buttonlll.and a. closure V plug 43. 'Howevergwhen the. cableizl ,lsjpulled in the manner previously described, "the sleeve 36is retracted'into.lowermost posltlon,'jasfshown' in; Fig.8, in which the upper end of the sleeve is belowthe button 4 0, whereupon, the, latter is forced inwardly by' the'sprin 42 into position between the valve head 3.5 and f the upper end .of the sleeve 36- and the end of "the buttonMQis tapered, as shown,. so that it depressesthetliead 351301013611. the valve and permit oxygenfunder high pressure in the bottle 9 to escape past the 'valve and intoxthat' portion. ,of the passage 21 containing the sleeve'36r, Escape of the oxygentr ow 'un derh'igh pressure in theipassagfe' 21, through the. small passage s i st ts i ear s Oxygen thereafter tubing 45 into 'a' chamber 41 mi the lower end or the 'stem 2 5 and thencefthrough a nippl :48 to the tube 4 (Fig. 3) and. thence tothe oxygen mask2 (Fig.1): Q

i The tube 6, leading {the main oxygen tank 1 previously. mentioned, co nnects to a nip'p'lefifi which'isalso adapted'to communicate with the chamber 41 4 However; whereas the.

nipple 43 is in perm'anent' free communication withthe chamber 41, the 'nipple 4:9 hasfoneway communication with thefcha'mber 41 past a rubber 'flapj valve. 50." Whil'ethe oxygen bottle 8 l is cutoff by the valve discil from the chamber",

oxygencan flow fromlthe .ni'ainftankl through the tube 6 and the nipple past thefiap valve into the chamber 41, and thence through .the nipple 48. and tube 4; to themask 2. However, when the valve has been. tripped, as-r-shown in Fig. 8, and oxygen is permittedto escape train the bottle 9 .into the. chamber. 41;,itsescape glgrough the nipple '49 is preventedi by. the valve ppl elWaI d the'tube' 4 to the mask.

I slowly the I passage 21 through a short. length 'ofcapillary liat it is forced 'to escape .thrciughthef I t 2,329,28 7 t t u ltl will. beunnders'tood' that: although fit i deg" n "*impbrtantzxjnyaypractlcable apparatus of' sirabletoprovideaapressureireducing'iavalve be 1th yper-itogwhichathis l invention rrelates::that

tween a: source or oxygenlunder ve'ry..h-igh pres sureand a mask, 'as'indicated zati B :invconnection with? the main s'tankf 15 0f Fig.;::1, -.thisls not we '21 sential andior emergency equipment ofbthe. type] there described, whichthas" to 'tun'ctionofor only a few minutes, and the' dischargegof theLoxygerl. r from theib ottle 39 isv satisfactorily regulated I by the short length of' capillary. tubing. :f4 6. -Al-Lg though the-rateiof 'flowbf oxygen throughthe tubing 46. diminishes asthe {pressure :'within.;-the bottle 9 drops, this is not important;

greatest (amount of oxygen is required when the valve is first tripped at the highestf altitudei"Ob? viously' as the aviator dropsgto lowenand-lower altitudes-his requiremen of 'rtlficiafll o gen} diminishes. v l

" It willbe noted thatlwit the v] 5 m northe chamber 41 mal positlon as"shown i'n Figg I is communicated 'th'rough' the capillary jtubing "46 "with the .chamberQZ I, which in turnis' com municated through the passage 38 with the atf -mosphere. It followsthat, thereis 'a path for I g since the; I t

the apparatus emountedionzg the {person 'sof'ithe aviator-1 beggkept as fcompact andllight asipossible.

l therefore prefer to, formqthe'iwalve 5, :integral with 1 the bottle 9, as shown; inrthep-sdrawing) l However, such iconstruction sis not essential and the-waive 5; maybe.constructedtasjrl-a"separatef unit? adapted' to :beu'screweii o 1'.;'It' will be understood {that although [a 'particu'- larr.con'struction has :tbeen disclosed in the drawin'g'i iionithje purpose of explaining the invention,

niunerous' ."deparjturesqfroin this particular I con strnctioni may ilbe made withoutfdeparting" from the invention, vwhich is ,to' be' limited pnly extent, set forth'in the appen'ded first :p'assag'e r m-commun cation with said lhe'r 'gency tank, and a second passage in communi- I cation with said mask, a normallyspring; closed 7 valve for intercommunicating said passages, "a

spring actuatedlatch movable whenreleased to open said valve, a movable blockingmember normally blocking saidraspring-actuated" latch against release, and anactuating member conistant'within the chamber" seldomfexceeds one j I or two inches of'water.

It is,desirable to provide a pressure gauge v55 in the upper end of the bottle 9 so, that the aviator can determine at a glancewhether or;

not the bottleis filled. Asyshown; the gauge 55' I is provided with a threaded neck, ,56 threaded into an opening, provided'therefor. in the end;

the stem 26 is screwed into the neck 25 of the bottle from the interior. This assembly isaccomplished with a wrench extended throughthe opening in the end wall 51 of the bottle before the pressure gauge 55 is screwed into place;

The bottle may be filled with oxygen by re- :moving the plug 43 andreplacing it with aconnection ,to'a source of oxygen under high presj I sure. The pressure opens thevalve disc 3|, permitting the oxygen, to flow intoithe bottle until the pressure'is substantially equalized, wherenected to said blocking member forrnovingthe .latter out of blockingrelationwith said springactuated means.v

2. In-an oxygen supply system for aviators, an oxygen mask, an emergency tank containing" -oxygen under pressure, .a valve body defining, a first passage in communication with said emergency tank,'and a second passage in communication with said mask, anormally closed valve for intercommunicating said first "a'ndlsecond passages, said body member havinga third passage extending from said second passage to the exterior of 'saidvalve bodyjmeansfor opening said valve including a member movable within said second passage and" having an actuating W member extending throughand loosely fitting in said third .passage, said movable member engaging against and, sealing the'inner orifice of said third passage when moved into position to,

open'said valve.

an oxygen mask, an emergency tank containing oxygenlunder pressure, a valve body defining upon'the valve 3| closes; The supplyconnection is then removed and the button 40, spring 42 and plug 43 replaced,'care being takento'see that. the sleeve 35 is in the upper position, as shown v in Fig. 7,at thetime these parts are replaced. The time required to fill thebottle in the man- 'a first passage in communication with said emergency tank a first. chamber, a normally closed valve between said first'passage andsaid first chamber, a second chamber in direct com ner described, is only a few seconds, so that the leakage which simultaneously occurs ,through,

the capillary tubing 46 is not important.

It will be understood that any desired type ofoxygen mask may be employed with 'my'in-, vention, and also that any type of main tank I and pressure reducing valve 8 maybe employed, Furthermore, my invention may be useful unmunication with said mask, means defining a restricted path for oxygen flow .between's'aid first s I I and second chambers, auxiliary means ,for' supher for opening said valve to seal thefinnerorie;

sure to eliminate any necessity of using an oxygen mask while the aviator is inthe ship; Under.

from the apparatus, as shown in Fig.1.

'fice of said, second passage.

' '4. Safety equipment for an aviator, compris ing in combination, a parachute, an oxygen;

mask, and an oxygen bottleall adapteditobe to; or otherwise said'm'ask; inrresponsetoopening'of said valve means, and valve-openingimeans voperably connecting the parachute tonsaid valve means, for

canopy and risers for, supporting the aviator from the canopy, an oxygen mask, and an oxygen bottleall jadaptedlto be mounted on the; personof the aviator, connecting means including normally closed valve, means for delivering oxygenirom said bottle to said mask in. response to opening of" said valve means, ,,and means responsive to a' strain on one oi z'said risers for opening said valve means. r

6. Safety equipment for an aviator; comprising in combination, a parachute including a canopy and risers for supporting the aviator from the canopy, an oxygen mask, gancljan' oxygenbottle all adapted, to be mounted on the person or thelaviato'r, connecting means mcmm ing noflnzillyflclbsedvalve means for delivering oxygen from}: said bottlegto s'aid mask in response wtoiopening ofsaid'valve means, yieldable m'eans forming a; loop in one of .said risers;

and'means responsiveto sstraightening otsaid loop for, open'in'glsaid valve means, 1

7. Safety equipment for an aviator,

mask; an emergency oxygen"tank,1- a normally closed valv'e'having apassage'adapted to connect said mask withsaidtank; spring-actuated means movableawhen releasedv to-open,'saidfivalve, a 15 movable blocking; member. normally blockingsaid spring-actuated meansagainst ,release and means :f or, pulling said blocking memben-out orblocking relation with "said springra'ctuated, means, said pullingmeans'being attached to one 7 (20 of said risers and being ad'aptedtov be pulled thereby when the riser is strained.

' S MOREHOUSE. 5?

g g I amass ing a parachute including a. canopy andrisers 7 1o for-supporting the aviator therefrom, anoxygen f 

